Things to Do
Your Own Private Chef
Add a touch of luxury to your stay! Book your own private chef to cook a special meal on the premises. Gourmet chef Aaron Aldrich will liaise with
you on the details. Put together a fabulous menu of your favourite dishes
or ingredients and let him do the rest.
Having eaten his cuisine many times, we can guarantee you a meal not to forget. Email us and we will put you in touch. You can book him when confirming your stay or later including after arrival. This makes a great
surprise gift for your partner or fellow-guests.
Wine-tasting, Walking, Cycling and lots more!
This house is not just a holiday cottage, it is a real house you could live in all year round. It has double glazing, powerful central heating and a wood-burning stove for cosy evenings in. This makes the house perfect also for an off season wine-tasting trip, painting holiday or cookery course. Nearby Malaucene, as well as being a mecca for cyclists, has a lovely spa and indoor pool with a wide range of treatments. Provence is well-known for its year round blue skies and while October is often still warm and sunny, right until Christmas you can enjoy sunny days and a better, drier climate than northern Europe. (We just had six weeks of non-stop sunshine and mild days in December and January.) Also a great time of year if you are into walking or climbing. Our nearby Dentelles-de-Montmirail are perfect for this or the even more challenging Mont Ventoux - of Tour de France fame. (There is a secure garage for your bikes!)
The house also has a good collection of books, board games, flat screen TV and DVD player.
Les Gorges de Toulourenc
In 2019 we discovered the Gorges du Toulourenc. A lovely forty minutes drive from the house, they can be enjoyed simply for their natural beauty. If you're more intrepid and adventurous, you can choose to walk and swim through the gorge! They are literally 'gorge'ous and the pinnacle of wild swimming. When we were there in late August the water was about 1m50 at its deepest.
Jazz, Junk and Sport
Jazz dans les Vignes
We particularly appreciate the season of jazz concerts that this organisation mounts, starting in May through to November with a weekend festival in August. Each year it gets better and better with Cairanne local, Monsieur Blanchard and his team programming a wide range of artists and bands. As the name suggests the concerts are at local vineyards, sometimes indoors but often in a magnificent outdoor or courtyard setting. After the show there is always a wine-tasting. Tickets can be booked online.
Markets and bric-a-brac
There is a market almost every day somewhere in this area, just check online on the day. For antiques and collectables, watch out for the posters in villages advertising Vide-Grenier -literally attic-clearance!
Sports
We have recently discovered the Gorge de l'Archeche area. It is only an hour's drive away, but has lots to offer not least its own micro-climate, stunning landscape, river beaches and canoeing experiences to suit the adventurous or more timid tastes. Tennis and Golf are nearby Cairanne plus a new water park (Wave Island - pic below) has opened in Monteux, about 30 mins. from the house.
